MRI visualization of proteoglycan depletion in articular cartilage vla intravenous administration of Gd-DTPA

The effect of intravenous administration of gadolinium diethylenetriamine-p entaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) on MR images was studied in vitro, using patholog ic osteochondral specimens removed during surgery for total endoprosthesis, and in vivo, on a group of volunteers. In ex vivo specimens, lesions of di fferent shape having lower T-1 were detected which corresponded to areas wi th depleted proteoglycans found histologically, In vivo experiments on youn g volunteers showed that the time course of cartilage enhancement was diffe rent for different anatomies. The time for maximum enhancement ranged from 45 min for the ventral femoral condyle to 270 min for patellar cartilage. ( C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.